BIOS
MENTOR:
Tom Atchison
For more than 25 years Tom was a senior executive and entrepreneur in Silicon Valley,
successfully starting and running four high technology ventures. In 2001 he decided to
pursue his passion for space exploration, designing and building his own rockets.
Eventually Tom founded the Mavericks Civilian Space Foundation, a non-profit
educational foundation dedicated to facilitating civilian space research, STEM Education
and Competition as an enabler of civilian space explorers. Tom specializes in airframe
aerodynamics, computational fluid dynamics, composite materials, and propulsion and
motor ballistics.
NAME:
AGE:
Steven Jorgensen
18
Steven emigrated from the Philippines with his family when he was in 8th grade. The family gave
up a comfortable life to give Steven a better education in the states. Steven attended the
California Academy of Math and Sciences, an advanced magnate school specializing in math and
sciences. At CAMS, he was captain of the robotics team. He currently lives in Los Angeles. Steven
will attend M.I.T in the fall, on a full academic scholarship.
NAME:
AGE:
EZINNA NNUBUE
18
Born in Nigeria, Ezinna recently graduated from the California Academy of Math and Sciences.
There, Ezinna excelled in AP Spanish, biology and captained the tennis team. In the fall, Ezinna
plans to attend UCLA.
NAME:
AGE:
KARINA SIMPSON
16
Karina is currently moving into her senior year at the California Academy of Math and Sciences.
The athlete of the group, Karina runs track, cross-country and plays basketball. At CAMS, Karina
founded a chapter for Black engineers. She also tutors young student around Compton, where
she lives.
NAME:
AGE:
VANESSA LOPEZ
18
Vanessa recently graduated from CAMS, and will attend Florida Institute of Technology in the
fall on full academic scholarship. She’ll be the first person in her family to attend college. Both
her parents are emigrants from Mexico. Vanessa’s dream is to become an astronautical
engineer for NASA. She currently lives in Compton, CA.
NAME:
AGE:
IAN GEOGEBEUR
17
Ian is entering his senior year at the California Academy of Math and Sciences. Ian is a natural
inventor, building a robot, which will be deployed from the rocket at apogee and programming a
Google Widget that keeps people abreast of the progress of the project. In fact, that’s why his
parents home schooled him until high school – they didn’t want to squash his creativity. Ian lives
in Long Beach. He’ll be applying to colleges in the fall, and hopes to attend Cal Tech or MIT.
NAME:
AGE:
KEVIN HSU
17
Kevin Hsu is entering his senior year at the California Academy of Math and Sciences. He plans
to study engineering in college and hopes to attend MIT. He is active on the robotics team at
CAMS. Someday, Kevin hopes to work on the international space station.
NAME:
AGE:
JULIA FEES
18
Julia Fees is a perennial underdog; she fights hard when things seem impossible. In fact, that’s
how she got into the California Academy of Math and Sciences. Her application was originally
rejected. So she marched into the principal’s office, asked for an appointment, and rationally
explained why she wanted to attend and what she brought to the table. She was admitted the
next day. That’s also why Julia loves this project; people don’t think 8 kids can launch a rocket.
She wants to prove them wrong. At CAMS, Julia captained the soccer team. Julia currently lives
in San Pedro and hopes to will attend UC Irvine.
NAME:
AGE:
CHRIS WALSVICK
18
Chris recently graduated the California Academy of Math and Sciences. He lives in Long Beach
and plans to enter the engineering program at Cal Poly SLO in the fall. He hopes to become an
aerospace engineer.